Purpose: To bring together representatives of the state health data organizations which will form the leadership of NAHDO and provide the policy and research guidelines for NAHDO's development 1986-1988. Methodology: Staff will prepare option analyses for each of the major organizing issues. These will be presented to the participants in the Sept. 86 conference. After the conference, staff will disseminate the proceedings to the other health data organizations, get reactions from there HDOs, formulate the final organizing plan and use that to begin actual NAHDO operations. NAHDO Goal: To improve the quality, quantity, and coordination of state health data organizations so, in turn, these organizations can improve the health care utilization, service and economic data base from which advanced research and market place decisions can be derived. NAHDO Objectives: 1) Collect and disseminate relevant information on a regular basis to, between, and from HDOs; 2) Ensure HDOs have access to state-of-the-art methods and techniques; 3) Expand the data collection effort to include outpatient delivery systems and physician care; 4) Identify and facilitate collection of those data elements that are used as quality indicators and strengthen the efforts to effectively utilize them; 5) Address the need for uniformity in data collection, coding, and accessibility by all HDOs; 6) Initiate research by HDOs and create a system of access to HDO data for the health services research community: 7) Assess the impact of HDOs on access, quality, and cost management; 8) Form Advisory Board comprised of fifteen persons, the majority of whom will be from the participating HDOs. The remainder will include at least one representative from business, the health insurance industry, state government, academic/health services research community, and the provider community. The board will provide overall policy direction and would review ongoing operations.